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Leading the State in Linked Learning

The Long Beach Unified School District will help lead one of 20 pilot projects state-wide designed to help students graduate from high school prepared to succeed in careers and college.

Legislation (Assembly Bill 790) by former Assembly Member Warren Furutani approved last year called for the establishment of these Linked Learning pilot programs. The participants selected by the California Department of Education in conjunction with outside partners include school districts, county offices of education, and several regional consortia of education agencies. The pilot programs will be used to assess how Linked Learning can be expanded to schools across the state.

Linked Learning programs use coursework, technical training, work-based learning and related support to create connections between high school and college and careers. Students in these programs are more likely to graduate from high school than their statewide counterparts, and do so with the skills and knowledge that California employers say they need.

"These 20 pilot projects combine two of California's greatest strengths: our diversity and our capacity for innovation," said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson, who announced the pilot projects this month. "They aim to serve hundreds of thousands of students from districts all over the state, and I am confident they will help students use their time in school to learn real-world skills and graduate prepared to contribute to the future of our state."

LBUSD will serve as a mentor to school districts in the Linked Learning San Diego Consortium, a partnership of five school districts within San Diego County. The partnership is being supported by the nonprofit ConnectEd and the University of San Diego. The consortium will work to develop and share innovative Linked Learning strategies among its members, take advantage of economies of scale through regional collaboration, build transition strategies with feeder middle schools, strengthen collaboration with local institutes of higher learning, and serve as a model for replication of best practices.

Long Beach high schools already have helped to pioneer Linked Learning. Several of the high schools’ small learning communities or academies here have earned the coveted Linked Learning Certification. To achieve certification, an academy must meet rigorous criteria developed by representatives from various Linked Learning partner organizations.